Motherhood Flying Blind
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: Luke and Lorelai have a baby post-AYITL. But when tragedy strikes, can Rory Gilmore be a mother herself? Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: How Would You Feel?

**Chapter 1: How Would You Feel?**

"Hey, Rory," Luke Danes called as he entered the living room of Number 37, Maple Street. "You wanna take a drive with me?"

Looking up from where she was typing away on her book, Rory Gilmore smiled at her stepfather. "Sure."

The pair got into Luke's beat-up truck, and began their drive through the little town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Stepfather and stepdaughter went along in silence at first, Luke keeping his eyes resolutely on the road. At last, the diner owner spoke.

"Rory... there's something I want to ask you."

"Ask away," Rory encouraged, beaming at her stepfather's awkward adorableness.

"You know that I love your mother very much," Luke prefaced.

Rory giggled. "Yes... you _are_ married to her now..."

"And you know that I... love you very much..." Luke continued.

Rory's eyes pricked with tears. Luke had never been the type to be overly clear in his affections, or to be sentimental. "Luke..."

"So... how would you feel if... if your mother and I... had a baby?" Luke pulled the truck over to the sidewalk so he could focus on his stepdaughter's answer.

Rory shrugged. "I would be fine with it. You and Mom deserve the chance to parent together." She smirked. "Even if you kind of already did with me."

Luke blinked. "Really? You wouldn't be... jealous?"

Rory grinned. "Nope. I'm grown up. I would absolutely love to have a little brother or sister."

Luke beamed. "Well, great. Because your mother and I... are pregnant."

Rory gasped. And then she squealed. She threw her arms him and hugged him tightly. "Congratulations! I can't wait! I love you, Luke!"

Luke grinned softly and hugged her back. "I love you too, Rory."


	2. Chapter 2: On Her Own

**Chapter 2: On Her Own**

"So, his bedtime is at 8:00 PM. Wake him up for a feeding at around 10:30. The rest of the night is up to him. We'll be back in the morning. Think you can handle all that, sweets?"

Rory glanced up with a smile at her mother's question while rocking her baby brother, William Richard Danes. He was only four months old. "We'll be fine. You and Luke go and have a good time at Grandma's presentation."

Lorelai Danes beamed as she kissed the foreheads of both of her children. "I love you."

* * *

Luke and Lorelai Danes never made it to Nantucket. A tractor trailer ran a red light and T-boned them about halfway from Stars Hollow to their destination. The couple was killed instantly.

The bodies were returned to Hartford Memorial Hospital, where a stunned Rory Gilmore confirmed their identities. Emily Gilmore, distraught, came down to help Rory care for the baby and prepare the funerals.

The day of the funeral for Stars Hollow's favorite couple was rainy and overcast. Rory wore a black dress and shawl as she approached the caskets with baby William in her arms, readying him to say goodbye along with her. After the service, friends and neighbors approached Rory and Emily to express their condolences. At the edge of the field, Rory suddenly noticed a familiar face in a suit, leaning somberly against a tree. Emily stiffened at the sight.

"What's he doing here?"

Rory bit her lip. "Wait for me, Grandma. I'll be right back."

Emily stared. "You're not seriously going over there, are you?"

"Grandma: he's the only parent I have left."

With that Rory approached her father, Christopher Hayden. His eyes brimmed with tears, mixing with the rain. He enveloped Rory into a hug. "I'm so sorry, kiddo."

Rory pulled back. "You didn't have to come..."

"Of course I did. I'm glad you invited me... even if on the sly." Christopher took a deep breath. "I know I have not been there for you before, but I am now. In whatever capacity you want me. I'd like to even help with... the baby, if that's OK."

Rory looked down at the child of Christopher's former rival, then back to her father. "When I need you, you'll be the first to know." She glanced back to see her grandmother waiting for her. Christopher touched her arm.

"Will you be all right on your own?"

Rory sighed. "I'm going to take care of him, Dad. I have... the _Gazette_ job, writing my book. I'm staying here. William needs that, for stability."

Father and daughter hugged one more time. "Drive back safe," Rory told him. "I'll call you."

And she watched as Christopher vanished into the rain.

* * *

That night, Rory returned to her parents' empty house at Number 37, Maple Street. She swaddled her baby brother in his blanket and lay him in his crib. Her heart broke at the reality that he would never know his parents. But at least he was here: the product of two people who had always been in love with each other. The epic love story of Stars Hollow. Seating herself in the rocking chair next to the crib, Rory sang little William off to sleep:

 _"Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee all through the night... Guardian angels God will send thee all through the night..."_


	3. Chapter 3: Mom!

**Chapter 3: Mom!**

The months passed. Rory got up every day, fed her little brother, and then brought him with her to her work at the _Stars Hollow Gazette_. By night, as little William slept, she worked on her memoir of growing up with her mother.

It was not long before her step-cousin, Jess Mariano, showed up with all his supplies from Philadelphia. He would be moving back to Stars Hollow to take over his uncle's Diner, as he refused to see it go under, while working part time on his own writing. Rory had considered taking on the Dragonfly Inn - her mother's business legacy - but Sookie had returned not long after Lorelai's death to keep that dream alive, for the sake of her friend.

When William was about a year old, April returned from her graduate studies in Germany. She was living in nearby Hartford while searching for a job.

One day, both April and Jess visited Rory at Number 37 Maple Street. It was a quiet Saturday, and Rory was trying to get some work on her memoir down while visiting with her step-cousin and step-sister and while William was down for his nap.

Unfortunately, William was having a hard time falling asleep. At the first sound of his cries, Rory reacted instinctively, leaping from her chair in the kitchen and dashing up the stairs to get him. She brought him back down, in the hopes that playing with Jess and April might tire the baby out.

"Wow. You're so good with him," April observed.

Rory grinned sheepishly as she bounced William in her arms. "Months of practice." She turned her attention to the baby. "You wanna say Hi to Jess?" she cooed and passed the baby into Jess's arms.

But William wasn't having any of it. He squirmed in his cousin's embrace. "No!"

Jess frowned. "Will, what's wrong, buddy? It's me, Jess!"

"No!"

Jess frowned. "I'm not sure what he wants..."

"MA!" Will suddenly wailed, reaching for Rory. "MA!"

The entire kitchen froze. April stared, frowning in a perplexed manner.

"He calls you Mom?" she asked of Rory, and she almost sounded offended that such a title had somehow been usurped from Lorelai.

Rory tried to explain it away. "He doesn't say it all the time. I'm trying to show him pictures of my mom and teach him otherwise. We'll... we'll work on it."

Jess and April looked at each other, but let the moment pass, trying their best to keep William happy as he joined them in the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4: Sissy!

**Chapter 4: Sissy!**

From her place at the Gazebo, Rory watched as 5-year-old Will played and wrestled with the other kids his age. She smiled proudly as he frolicked and came into his own. He was already looking so much like his Dad...

"Sissy! Sissy!" Will toddled over to his older half-sister. He had grown out of his calling Rory 'Mom' in his infancy, and had since adopted an abbreviation of the word sister - 'Sissy' as a name of endearment.

Rory beamed as she hugged her baby brother. Raising him these last several years had been hard, but their situation had been made easier with the greatly successful publication of Rory's book, _Gilmore Girls_. They still lived in Stars Hollow, and Jess and April helped take care of Will when and where they could, out of loyalty to Luke.

Rory now took Will's hand. "Want to see Mommy and Daddy?"

The pair went up out of town and over the grassy hillside to the Stars Hollow cemetery. The graves of Luke and Lorelai Danes stood tall over the rest; indeed, both final resting places looked almost like shrines, filled with flowers and farewell notes even today. Will added to the pile a small bouquet that his sister and guardian handed to him. Then he kissed the graves reverently.

"Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy. I love you."

Blinking back tears, Rory smiled at the touching sight. In the years to come, she would tell Will many more stories of his parents. And hopefully, she would do right by him.


End file.
